Visualizing Trends in the Structure of U.S. Agriculture, 1982 to 1992¹

Multiple indicators of the structure of agriculture were extracted from the U.S. Census of Agriculture for the years 1982, 1987, and 1992, and used to extend previous work by Wimberley (1987). Exploratory factor analysis results for each year yielded three dimensions of agri‐structure: corporate‐commercial, farming‐firm, and small‐farm. Factor‐scores used to estimate scales had high reliabilities (omega coefficients > .9) and strong inter‐temporal correlations for each scale across years were observed. The content of each scale was consistent across the three years, suggesting that structural shifts in the elements defining “agri‐structure” were minimal. Because the 1980s were a turbulent period for U.S. agriculture, the patterns describing heterogeneity among counties in each year were investigated. Cluster analysis of each year's three factor scales produced five homogeneous groups of counties: three, dominated respectively by small‐farms, farming‐firms, and corporate‐farms and two mixed groups, which we interpreted as reflecting transitional situations. Comparisons of these cluster groupings across the three years identified the emergence of counties typified by organizational patterns of firm‐oriented and corporate‐commercial farming. Moreover, the patterns of temporal movement by U.S. counties across this typology suggest a fundamental change from homogeneous family‐centered small‐farming concentrations dominant during most of this century. Implications of the findings are discussed.